The Official Publication of the International Decorative Artisans League formerly The Artistic Stenciler Winter 2009

Transcription

1 formerly The Artistic Stenciler Winter 2009 The Official Publication of the International Decorative Artisans League tretch Yourself Presorted Standard US Postage Paid Permit No. 23 Wichita, KS

2 contributors Mark Godoy (page 50) has been creating beautiful art work since his childhood in Belize. As a self-taught artist, Mark mastered the use of oil, acrylic, and watercolor first painting landscapes of his native land, later creating everything from portraits to skylines to still life. After being introduced to the world of faux painting, Mark knew it was a perfect fit to his career path. He studied at Faux Effects International in Vero Beach, Florida, and The Finishing School in New York. He incorporates over twenty-five years of experience and talent into the world of decorative painting through his company, Surface Gems, Joyce Hutchinson (page 42) grew up in a military family, always moving. Even as early as age five, she spent many hours at the diningroom table, drawing to her heart s content. Now married for twenty-four years, Joyce has three children and an artistic/musical family. She has been teaching art education to children out of her home for the past ten years. Currently Joyce paints murals and decorative finishes and has a licensing agreement with Art Classics, LTD. What better way to share something you love than to create more of it for all to see? See more of Joyce s art at her web site, You could be on this page! Submit an article to Artisphere see submission guidelines on page 22. Stu Neyland (page 5), a professional artist for forty years, has now started his own stencil design business, Raised Expectations. He designs his stencil collections in his home studio on a beautiful barrier island on Florida s Gulf Coast, and says it is the most satisfying work he has ever done. Stu created Baa Relief exclusively for Artisphere. He will always welcome reader input for the cartoon. Stu s stencil collections may be viewed at Lori Albert (page 29) has a degree in graphic design but has always had a natural love for crafts. After her first child was born, she became a freelance graphic artist and began doing floorcloths for fun, as a way of keeping her hand in the arts while raising two little girls. Her floorcloths caught on and are still in demand some twenty years later. Contact Lori at Lalbertdesigns@aol.com Amy Bauernschub Amy (page 46) is a self-taught artist who drew and painted as a release from the busy life of a working mother. In 2006, at the encouragement of friends, Amy chose to turn her hobby into a career. She joined SALI and became involved with her local chapter, Greater Maryland Decorative Artisans. Amy loves to take risks and try new things. In January 2007 she was appointed to the then-sali board. Amy splits her time between family, IDAL, and her business, AmySquared, LLC, 6 ARTISPHERE

3 Zero Otto Nove A Taste of Salerno Walking down Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, you might turn through a doorway and find yourself in the heart of Salerno, Italy thanks to a major art commission recently completed by decorative artist Mark Godoy. Artisphere asked Mark to tell us how he approached and accomplished this impressive task. One day while canvassing the Little Italy area in New York for new clients, I noticed construction on Arthur Avenue. I inquired and learned that the owner is Roberto, who owns another restaurant around the corner. I introduced myself to him and showed him my portfolio. He was very by Mark Godoy impressed and immediately began telling me his plans and concept for the new restaurant. He wanted me to meet his architect, so we set a date and had lunch to discuss his ideas. Roberto, who grew up in the town of Salerno, had definite ideas on this project. He wanted patrons of his restaurant to get the sense of being in Salerno as they dined. So he had his architect build several arches, some of them 12 feet high, leading back to the rear of the restaurant. There, the space opens up to a large dining area with a huge arch 20 feet high. A large skylight brings in natural light. The architect had traveled in Italy and had taken pictures of various buildings and alleyways in Salerno. Using these photographs as reference, I created a 50 ARTISPHERE

4 composition that would suit a mural for the huge back wall, giving the illusion of entering further into an alley. A side mural added the effect of entering through a second alley. I made a sample proof of the main mural on a 2' x 3' canvas for the owner to view and approve. After submitting the sample and a proposal, I was hired for the job. I wanted the illusion to work with the natural skylight and to look like an outside piazza. Painting a trompe l oeil mural in very light sepia tones gave an illusion of a slight distance and depth. The mural was done as a fresco with some textures to give the effect of crumbling walls. The tiled floor in the mural was painted the same colors as the tiled floor of the restaurant. I gradually blended together the mural floor and real floor to give the illusion of walking right through the alley. The lighter areas above the arches on the mural were left unpainted, with only the plaster showing through, to reinforce the illusion of the light source coming down from above. For both murals, I prepared the walls with a primer sealer, then painted them with Faux Effects neutral white paint. After the paint dried I troweled on a tight coat of Faux Effects plaster called Plaster Tex, leaving some irregular areas. The plaster was sanded lightly after it dried. The next day I used a projector to scale up the images to size and sketched out the murals. Some areas I sketched freehand. For areas where I wanted a more realistic feel of crumbling texture, I rolled on some SandStone texture from Faux Effects and lightly sanded it down when it was dry. Now the fun part begins. I started painting the mural from dark to light, painting all the deep shadows and mid-tones using Faux Effects Faux Crème Color paints (Earth Brown, Dark Brown, Vandyke Brown, Black, Ocher Yellow & Italian Sienna) mixed appropriately in a glaze and painted on. For the exposed brick on the right side corner of the large mural I used Leather Red paint mixed with Brown, Black, Ocher Yellow and White. The colors used on the side mural were Faux Effects Italian Sienna, Earth Brown, Dark Brown, Black and White. I used various size chip brushes to lay in the color glaze and paints, then used cheesecloth to soften and blend out some areas and remove any unwanted brush strokes. For the larger areas I used a hotdog roller for better coverage. Since smaller areas are more detailed, I used various artist brushes including Winter

5 5/8" and 1" flat, 9" round, and #3 sable. The chip brushes I used to lay in the paints for the two murals were 2", 3" and 4" in size. The ceiling was a bit of a challenge. I had to paint two coats of metallic copper over about eight existing chrome beams that were already installed. For three of the skylights in the center of the restaurant I had to use a mobile scissors-lift. I used denatured alcohol to clean the areas to be painted, then used Faux Effects Verdigris colors (Blue Green, Dark Green and Light Green) brushed in together with water. I softened any hard edges with cheese cloth to give a patented, weathered look. I allowed some of the copper to be exposed. Because the owner had set a deadline for opening the restaurant, we decided to hire two masons to apply plaster on the walls and arches. I directed them on how I would like this to be done, leaving the bricks 52 ARTISPHERE

6 exposed in some areas. Also some of the bricks were cut and applied artistically on the arches and walls. When this was dry, I had it primed to a neutral color and glazed it with a light earth tone to give an aged look. The larger arch was not painted and was left with only the plaster over the exposed bricks to break up the visual effects. To add a more three-dimension effect, the owner requested real doors affixed to the walls and real windows with curtains and functional light fixtures. All of this adds to the trompe l oeil effects and the sense of being in Salerno. The artistic elements, the cuisine, and the ambiance all came together successfully. The restaurant s name, Zero Otto Nove, translates as Zero Eight Nine, the area code for that part of Salerno. Zero Otto Nove is one of the most talked-about restaurants in Little Italy. Winter